Review of Shrek

Such is how all-traditional fairy tales begin. But this, my friends, is far from a traditional fairy tale. Hell, even the adverts exclaim this is "the greatest tale never told," so you know that it's not gonna conform to all the rules, regulations, and accepted fairy tale motifs. Hell, it doesn't even adhere to the Fractured Fairy Tale guidelines, if you can believe that.

While outwardly resembling the fabled fairy tales of old, on the inside Shrek is a mischievous twisted yarn with tongue planted firmly in both cheeks (if you catch my double entendre). Sure, there's sweeping fairy tale music at the beginning and those very same words: "Once upon a time," grace our ears, but when our titular hero emerges from an outhouse with a big grin on his ugly mug, any conventions that might have been harbored have just been tossed out the window (and it's a 13 story window, to boot!).

For those concerned with Cliff's Notes summarization, Shrek is a basic quest movie with ribald humor, nail biting action, and yes, even romance, tossed in for good measure. The story goes a little something like this: Shrek is an ogre living in the swamp. He cherishes his solitude very much, so you can imagine his dismay when his beloved swamp is turned into an internment camp for fairy tale folk. Not one to put up with unwanted house quests, Shrek sets out to set things right. Alas, in order to get his swamp back he must first rescue the gorgeous Princess Fiona from the clutches of the dreaded fire-breathing dragon. So sayeth Lord Farquaad, the very man who sent the fairy folk into Shrek's swamp. Teamed up with his annoying sidekick Donkey, Shrek sets out to save Fiona and in turn, his swamp.

A simple sounding story, right? Sure it is. And if this were just some made-for-television fairy tale theater with live action actors it would be pretty routine. But it's not. Instead this is a state-of-the-art CGI romp through a wonderful world inhabited by ogres, talking donkeys, living gingerbread men, and of course fire-breathing dragons.

And while that all may seem old hat for some, it's injected with plenty of bawdy humor (if you think fart jokes are juvenile, well then you're outta luck. If, on the other hand you truly believe that fart jokes are always funny, then rejoice!), some edgy (and hilarious) digs at Disney (for those not up on industry insides, producer Jeffrey Katz once worked for Disney), and plenty of relevant, yet irreverent pop culture nods (can you say Matrix?).

For those familiar with the previous worlds created in Antz, Toy Story, and Bug's Life, forget about 'em. The world that the animators at PDI have created for Shrek is totally amazing.

The detail in the flora alone merits applause. The wind ripples through the grass leaving emerald waves in the wake. Bushes and trees shimmer with authenticity. Hell, even the dry twigs laying on the forest floor look brittle and snapable.

Shrek (Mike Myers) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy) approach the end of their journey with Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz).

As for the characters? Well, they are incredibly believable. Immediately after the credits announcing the participation of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow, you completely forget about the big name voice talent and are soon immersed in the characters themselves. Myers in the title role is simply brilliant, dishing out a neo-Scottish brogue that is gruffly loveable. And Murphy as Donkey is a sharp and speedy tongued riot. You'll probably need to see the film more than once to catch all of his dialogue. And the interaction between the two, especially when you factor in that they were probably never on set at the same time due to the nature of voiceover work, is nothing short of chemical brilliance.

In terms of how they look and act, Shrek and Donkey are marvels, animated marvels that transcend the constrictions of the cartoon to become completely believable actors in their own right. Facial movements replicate reality, moving from grins to smirks to open mouthed laughter as easily as any human in real life would. Man, there are even fat jiggles underneath Shrek's chin!. And the texturing on Donkey alone is incredible. He hide is so meticulously textured it looks like you could reach out and feel it's bristly softness. The same detail is instilled in the rest of the fairy tale creatures, as well, ranging from a randy Pinocchio to feisty Three Blind Mice.

And the direction? You won't believe that this is basically a computer generated cartoon (no offense to all the technical folk at PDI) because there are some insane camera angles including all of the basics: close-ups, wide angle pans, slo-mo, you name it. Hell, faux sunlight reflections on the lens have even been added! That's how detailed the whole thing is.

If there is one complaint to register against Shrek it would be that the human characters do not look real at all (oh yeah, the dragon is a bit cartoony for my taste, too). They're much more angular than any of the fairy folk and their movements seem rigid by comparison. But then again, this is supposed to be a fantastical world populated largely by fantastical characters that we've never seen fully realized in 3-D before. So it's a testament to the creative forces behind Shrek that the title character and all of his kin have come to life and are actually more believable than the human characters themselves. If that even begins to make any sense, that is.

This movie is sharp, funny, and engaging on an emotional level as well as a technical level and easily falls into the modern classic fairy tale retrograde category along with The Princess Bride. In short, to fall back on an ancient cliche, Shrek is one of those loose and fancy free kind of films that appeals to children of all ages (especially children who never grow old of fart jokes).

 Spence D. would challenge Shrek to a burping contest any day. He's also the Senior Editor of IGN Formen